Hynobius
by Imperial Mint
Summary: Written for MarcoAce Week Day 6. With his planet under the threat of slavery, Ace is sent on a mission to find the phoenix, their last hope. Of course Ace sets out to find a bird and instead finds Marco, unaware his goal is within a much easier reach than anticipated.


**Pairing: **Marco x Ace  
**Notes: **Written for Day 6 of MarcoAce Week. The theme for Day 6 was fighting.

This changed a lot over the course of it being written. But... I had fun with it! Also slightly dedicated to MyLadyDay due to the (attempted) voice kink in this. Enjoy!

**.**

It was the third bar Ace had been in in as many hours. He sighed, flicking the straw in his brightly coloured drink, mourning the fact he had to go with non-alcoholic options.

"Why the long face, buddy?" someone said next to him. Ace turned to the figure, spikes protruding from along its spine and face elongated in a matter reminiscent of a hammerhead shark. Aliens were commonplace, particularly at inter-space bars, and Ace hardly blinked at their strange appearance.

"I'm searching for someone," Ace said. There was no need to hide that part of his task. He wouldn't disclose exactly why he was looking for it, but he needed help and the previous bars he'd been to had been unhelpful. "Well, a creature to be exact."

The alien tilted its head, jaw opening to reveal two strange suckers, which moved down to sip at its dark-coloured drink. It was a thick liquid and it slurped noisily as it was sucked up the straw. Ace hid his grimace well.

"A bird. They call it a phoenix. I was wondering if you knew anyone who knew anything." The alien finished slurping and let out a light burp, green skin turning blue with embarrassment.

"You're asking for trouble, you are," the alien said, eyeing its empty drink. Ace sighed, waving to the bartender (a bear-like creature that stood on two legs and had thick, leathery wings on its back) and signalling for a refill. The alien turned a slight yellow in happiness and Ace passed over the money. Information wasn't fucking cheap.

"You don't want to ask around too much," the alien said, slurping. "The phoenix isn't something you want people catching onto, if you know what I mean." The alien waved a clawed hand and Ace hummed, leaning in a little.

"I can tell you where to go and who you want to see. I used to be a mechanic and you get to know the people in the area." It slurped again and Ace held his breath. Perhaps his searching could finally come to an end now.

"You want to go to the next spaceport. Ask for Whitebeard and you'll get your phoenix." The alien returned to its natural colouring and Ace downed his drink. He shoved some coins at the alien, enough to get it another three rounds of his disgusting drink at least, and slung his watermelon bag on his back.

Ace's one-man ship was waiting for him. He ran a hand over the Striker's side before slipping in, strapping himself into his seat and lowering the glass roof. This was the ship that had carried him from his home planet and without his ship, Ace's entire planet would be destroyed.

While he didn't know the exact details, Ace did know that there had been a prophecy. Well, not a prophecy as such in the tales of magic and that, but a prophecy in the form of a letter. It had come from an organisation (aptly named PROPHET) that sent out distress letters – prophecies – to planets in danger before the trouble arrived.

It had predicted that his planet would be overrun by a species of alien that was known for capturing and enslaving entire nations. The Tenryuubito were easily distinguished by their bobble-heads and stubby bodies and feared for their ruthlessness. If they were coming, you were doomed.

The letter had offered them a solution. They had been told to find the phoenix and the council had chosen Ace – he was young and strong and had a ship that could fly through space quickly. Ace had accepted and that had been that.

Of course, phoenixes were harder to find than Ace had thought. He'd been travelling for a month now and only just received a possible lead – if the alien wasn't tricking him, of course.

The Striker sped through space smoothly and the spaceport the alien had told him of. He docked, paid a stern dock master and was directed to a large ship, where he'd apparently find this Whitebeard.

A few men were milling around by the ship's entrance and Ace approached them slowly, ignoring the urge to push his hat a little further down his face. He nodded to one of the men, a blond guy with his shirt open. He was clearly an obnoxious jerk, but Ace couldn't let that fail his mission. At least the guy had a body that was worth showing off.

"Excuse me," he began. "Do you know where I could find Whitebeard? I'm looking for something and was told he'd be able to help me."

There was silence for a few seconds and then the blond man spoke up.

"Follow me," he said and the others seemed to relax, smiling at Ace as he passed. Clearly they weren't just hanging around the massive ship for relaxation reasons. Perhaps this Whitebeard was a bigger fish than Ace had thought.

The blond man led Ace on deck and Ace came to an abrupt stop when he saw just exactly how 'big' Whitebeard was. Surely the guy was half-alien, at least, with that stature.

"Oyaji," the blond guy said, "you have a visitor."

Whitebeard sat in a huge chair on deck. A few others milled about on board, most seeming to be reloading the ship, but they cleared out of the way. The blond man lingered, only stepping away when Whitebeard nodded. They were a prepared bunch of men, Ace thought.

"Brats like you are always looking for trouble. You seem to think I can help you?" Whitebeard smiled, his words light and playful. Even if Ace had come here with the intent to kill, he'd never be a match for his man, and Whitebeard knew it.

"PROPHET sent my planet a message. The Tenryuubito are after us and they said a phoenix was our only hope of resisting them." Ace tilted his chin, all faux-bravo and feigned confidence. "I was told you could help me."

Whitebeard looked down at him, eyes narrowed. Ace kept his gaze on Whitebeard, knowing that this was a test. If he failed, his entire planet would fall.

"I can provide the means to help you get your phoenix," Whitebeard said eventually. "Whether or not it helps you is another matter entirely."

Relief flooded Ace's heart and he bowed low.

"Thank you," he said, ignoring the laugh that came from above him. Whitebeard could think his actions were silly all he liked; nothing was beyond him if he could save his planet.

"Marco," Whitebeard said softly and the blond man from before appeared at his side. "You'll be accompanying Ace. Help him to the best of your abilities, if you see fit to."

Ace raised an eyebrow. He'd expected a map or directions, the bird itself if he had the devil's luck, but instead he got Marco. A hot, blond guy who refused to put his ridiculous chest away. There should be laws against showing such a swoon-worthy set of pectorals in public, Ace thought.

"Ah," Marco said, tilting his head to look at Ace. "If you say so, Oyaji."

He paused, looking entirely un-thrilled by the prospect of travelling with Ace. Muscles of gloriousness aside, Ace wasn't particularly pleased by the arrangement either.

"I'll pack some things up. Do you have a ship?" Ace nodded, giving Marco directions to the Striker and watching him vanish into the darkness of the ship. He felt Whitebeard's stare on his shoulders and he looked up.

"Marco will have a denden mushi," Whitebeard said with a smile. "If you need more than your phoenix, just give me a call. I'd hate to see the Tenryuubito take something else they shouldn't lay their grubby hands on."

There was a gleam in Ace's eyes and he interpreted it as Whitebeard was a bloodthirsty half-alien who had a past with the Tenryuubito. What else could it mean?

Ace left a moment later, unable to shake a slightly uneasy feeling as his feet hit the spaceport. He ambled over to his beloved ship, making sure the second seat was clear for Marco, and checked in with the attendant who had been filling his ship with fuel.

It took Marco half an hour to arrive. Ace sat beside his ship half-asleep, frowning when a shadow came over him.

"Took you long enough," he muttered, pushing off the floor with a groan. Marco looked suitable unimpressed, until he scanned the ship behind Ace.

"She looks fast," he said and Ace smiled.

"She's the fastest ship on my planet, though I bet she could be outrun easily by some more up to date ships. Still, she's my pride and joy. Welcome aboard the Striker!" Ace grinned and the man held out his hand. Ace took it, Marco's hand warm in his. Perhaps he wasn't so bad as Ace had originally thought.

"Oyaji didn't say what we were looking for exactly," Marco said as Ace let them onto the ship. He started the Striker up, setting her out to space with ease.

"A bird," Ace said. "It's a red-ish bird," Ace said simply. He didn't want Marco to think he was ridiculous and they were hunting for mythical creatures that didn't exist. "It likes hot places."

Or so Ace thought. All he'd managed to glean from books was that the phoenix was a fire bird, so it had to like hot places. Surely?

"You came to Oyaji about a bird," Marco said, voice low and expressionless. Ace frowned.

"It's to help my planet. If it was a rock I'd travel the galaxies to find it." He released the steering wheel, confident at letting the Striker drift towards their destination, a planet that was hotter than most and boasted a wild array of heat-loving creatures, both native and introduced.

"I respect that," Marco said quietly. "Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Marco, First Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates." He smiled and Ace looked to his right, tilting his head.

"You're pirates?" Ace asked. "Pirates still exist?"

Marco laughed.

"We do. We help those in need and Oyaji seems to think you need mine." Marco sank back against his chair. "It's a good life. We live a free, simple life."

It sounded nice, Ace thought, and he said as much, Marco humming in reply. They sat in comfortable silence until a dusky, red planet came into view.

"I'll request entry," Ace said and Marco remained silent. Ace typed out their request for entry, hovering outside the planet's entry zone.

"You know, when I first began travelling in space, I thought it would be full of undiscovered planets and exciting adventures." Ace gave a snort of laugh, shaking his head. "Just about everywhere useful has been discovered and you spend more time waiting to be accepted through entry zones than flying."

It brought a smile to Marco's face and Ace felt somewhat rewarded by it.

"Do you do a lot of chasing and escaping? Illegal entry and all that?" Ace asked and Marco smiled, shaking his head.

"If we did, our ship would have been impounded long ago. We can't run from the authorities forever, though we have shown up unannounced before." Marco looked at Ace. "We spent six hours trapped between two blockades of government officials, one for the planet and one for the galaxy. Every member of our crew had to have their space license checked and we have a lot of people in our crew."

Marco sighed. "It's not worth the hassle. It's easier just to wait to be permitted entry."

A buzz sounded over Ace's communications denden mushi and it spat out a garbled message. The ship's translator picked it up and the message sounded through the ship.

"Permission to dock granted. Welcome."

Ace grunted in acknowledgement and set his ship to fly down, the dock clearly illuminated. It was fairly busy – this planet was also famous for its thermal spas – and took a while to secure a decent parking spot.

"So how did you get into the pirate business," Ace asked, after they'd filled out the paperwork and were walking through the town nearby. They'd decided to check into a hotel and rest up before trekking out the following day.

Marco looked at him and shrugged.

"I was travelling, looking for work. I'd never had a proper family, been passed around from here to there. When I was old enough I snuck on a cargo ship, ended up in the galaxy's busiest port." Marco smiled. "I found work helping this old guy. He wanted enough provisions to fill this massive ship and then wanted help manning the thing."

There was such fondness in Marco's voice that Ace couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face.

"It was hard work. We almost crash landed a few times." Marco glanced towards Ace, looking away again quickly. "We built up our family quickly though. Anyone with nowhere to go or anyone who wants to see the stars. We take everyone."

There was something more to what Marco was saying, but Ace wasn't sure if he was reading into it correctly.

"Oyaji likes you. If he didn't, he wouldn't have sent someone with you." Marco grinned and raised an eyebrow. "When you first showed up, I was expecting a brat demanding trouble. You're not that bad though."

Ace grinned at the hidden compliment and bumped Marco's shoulder, nodding to a hotel just off to the right.

"I am excited to sleep," Ace muttered, Marco trailing behind him.

The hotel was nicely furnished and clean. The prices were listed clearly at the reception, where a red-coloured creature stood behind a desk. It had four legs and two arms, a squashed face smiling kindly as they approached the desk.

"We have a special offer! For customers of today only, free entry to our all you can eat buffet! It includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, not a deal to be missed! It applies to all rooms on the top three floors." The creature paused, blinking its three eyes one after another. "How many I help you, honourable customers?"

The rooms on the top three floors were probably smaller than the others, but free buffet was an offer Ace couldn't resist.

"We'll take one of those room, it doesn't matter what room," Ace said, passing his payment card to the creature. Marco was silent, but he made no move to stop the transaction. Soon they were moving upwards to their room.

Of course, nothing ever went so smoothly. The room turned out to be host to one bed only. While it was large enough for them both, Ace turned to Marco with a sigh.

"I'll go change the room," he said. Ace doubted they'd be able to change easily (surely this had to be the only available room, the creature couldn't think they were together!), and he'd probably have to sacrifice the free buffet, but it would be for the best.

"I don't mind," Marco said, setting his bag on the ground and stretching. His muscles were taunt and Ace caught himself from staring too much, just in time for Marco to open his eyes and look his way.

"I've shared in worse situations and with worse people," Marco continued and Ace's stomach flopped about ridiculously. "Just warn me if you're a cuddler so I don't get a surprise in the night!"

He said it with a laugh and Ace's eyes widened. Marco paused, clearly sensing his words had had more of an impact than he'd expected. He was still smiling though, and not unkindly.

"I don't mind. It's been a while since I shared a bed with someone and even longer since I've shared body heat." Marco smiled, and there was definitely something there that Ace couldn't put his finger on. "I'm going to shower, hope you don't mind."

Ace didn't mind at all, and he stripped down to underwear, climbing into the bed. He'd hardly slept since he'd left his home, choosing to stay on board the Striker where possible, and was exhausted. The sound of the shower in the next room lulled him to sleep and soon, Ace was out like a light.

**.**

There were two things Ace knew for sure as he woke. One – he had a massive hard on. Two – the person wrapped around him was definitely not Luffy.

Still half-asleep, Ace stretched slightly, moving a hand over his partner's chest, excitement curling in his belly as his hands smoothed over toned muscles and down. He was wearing underwear and Ace frowned, the situation suddenly becoming a little clearer in his mind.

Shit.

Ace opened his eyes and was met with amused blue ones. He hadn't been in bed with someone he'd had sex with; the events of the previous day caught up and Ace shuffled away, red-faced.

"I'm going to use the bathroom," he muttered, hands dropping in front of his crotch in attempt to hide his arousal. Maybe Marco hadn't seen erection, though Ace didn't see how. It had been pressed against Marco and he'd been feeling Marco up. Unless he was a complete idiot (and Ace didn't think a complete idiot could have survived so long with Whitebeard), there was no way Marco had missed it.

Of course, Ace took care of his problem in the shower. There was no point willing his hard on away and, well, Ace was never one to turn down a wank. Who was?

The room was quiet when he returned, towel around his waist and eyes scanning the room. Ace grabbed his bag and retreated to the bathroom once more, thankful that Marco was still tucked under the sheets.

It wasn't that Marco was unattractive. In fact, Ace was very attracted to him. Despite his misconception Marco was a prick when he'd first see him, he'd turned out to be a very decent guy and, well, Ace liked that too.

He wasn't on a mission to get laid though. Ace was on a mission to save his planet. Perhaps after-

Nope. Ace wouldn't think about that now.

"Seeing as you missed dinner last night," a voice from the covers said, thick with sleep. "I'll meet you down at the buffet. Then we can go find this red bird of yours."

Ace loved Marco. There was no doubt about it – he was letting Ace go ahead to the buffet and that was true love.

Of course, by the time Marco showed up – freshly showered and with a pastel purple shirt today – the management were hovering around Ace's table, eyes wide and darting.

"Why thank you," Marco said as he took a seat, taking a used plate and selecting what he wanted from the various platters Ace had gathered. Ace watched as he turned to the management, smiling.

"Is there a problem?" he asked kindly and Ace snorted into his cereal as the two aliens scuttled off, shaking their heads quickly.

"It's always like this. Usually I get kicked out before too long." Ace paused. "Or I run out."

Marco raised an eyebrow, spearing an elongated, blue thing with his fork and crunching it between his teeth.

The staff were relieved when the pair finally left, and Ace stretched as they left the hotel. He was finally going to get the bloody phoenix and return home.

Heading out to the heated plains was easy. There were no rules against it and Ace managed to even pick up two pairs of binoculars and a net – though the locals eyed him with humour. Apparently the wildlife here was as heated as the land and could easily defend itself against meddling humans. Still, Ace had read that phoenixes were intelligent and could understand human speech – if Ace asked nicely, he was sure it would come along with them for a little while.

They trekked through tall jungles for hours, stopping when Marco called a food break. There was little sign of anything other than insects (though they were huge) and reptiles. The only bird-like animal Ace had seen had been an insect with a long neck and eyes that had watched them for what felt like kilometres.

"Are you sure it's a bird?" Marco said softly, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face. He wiped at it absently and Ace glared at him from where he sat, water bottle in hand and shirt drenched in sweat.

"Course I'm fucking sure it's a bird," he hissed back, gritting his jaw. "Sorry. I'm just annoyed."

Marco nodded tiredly, sighing and sitting down in front of Ace

"You and me both," he admitted. It was clear from the weight of the words that Marco didn't admit weaknesses often, especially not to strangers.

"Are we strangers?" Ace said, not liking the way the word formed. He hadn't known Marco for long – just over a day technically, though time in space was always a little wobbly – but they were comfortable, far more than just acquaintances, but the sound of friend was wrong.

"I don't share beds with strangers," Marco said, looking at Ace. "We're friends. Sort of." His mouth turned down in the corner and Ace knew he wasn't the only one who felt odd with calling them friends.

"This bird's pissing me off," he said instead and Marco gave a huff of laughter.

"Are we sure it's on this planet? I haven't seen any sign of birds or heard anything like a bird." Marco glanced his way and Ace shrugged.

"It's the only place I can think to look," he muttered and Marco nodded his head slightly.

"Look," Marco began, "if you let me have control of your ship, I can rush back and look up this planet's ecosystem and let you know if there's any birds here."

Ace blinked. They could have done that?

"We might as well both get back then and-" Marco cut him off with a wave of his hand, slipping the bag he'd brought off his shoulders and pulling something from it. It was a brilliant blue colour, yellow and darker blue mingling with what could only be described as flames, despite them being a different colour. Ace handed the keys over quickly, eyes wide and a smile wide.

"I can get back to your ship quickly," Marco said, slipping his arms into the blue flames, the material covering his arms and back. There were long trails that drooped on the ground and Marco strapped himself into what looked to be some sort of flying device.

"For some reason, I'm the only person in the world that can fly this. The intergalactic government originally made thousands – one-man space crafts they called them. I stole one, tinkered with it a bit and gave it a better design… and mine's the only one they've ever been able to see working." Marco pressed a button on his chest and the flames lit up slightly, the smell of space-fuel filling Ace's nostrils.

"They buried the project, deeming it worthless and too costly. Which is fine for me," Marco finished, pulling the helmet over his head. It covered his entire face and left Ace incredibly impressed.

"I'll transport you to the ship when I can. Assuming your translocation works?" Ace nodded and Marco shot him a grin, flapping his arms and pushing off of the ground with a boost of flames. Ace watched as Marco soared in the air, eyes still fixed above him.

Everything Marco did seemed to just make Ace like him even more. He sighed and dug through his bag for the small earphones that would allow him to communicate with Marco once he was back at the Striker.

"Reporting to Captain Ace," a smooth voice said in his ear and Ace sat up, scraping his knee on the ground as he did so.

"I'm not a captain of anything," Ace replied and he head Marco laugh over the line.

"You could be captain of something," he said, voice dipping lower. Ace wanted to think – but then Marco had changed the subject.

"I'm looking for information on this planet. So far it's produced conclusive evidence that birds have never lived here. They're not banned entirely and there are pets – but they're regulated and if they escape then…" Marco hummed to himself. "They don't live very long. Birds are a delicacy to a native species apparently."

Ace sighed.

"We could have saved so much time," he moaned quietly.

"It wasn't such a waste," Marco said, and there was a beeping that signalled the Striker had finished searching for information. "I certainly had an interesting morning."

Though Marco was far away, Ace still flushed red. His entire body ran cold and then hot and he struggled for words, his plan to act cool and casual as non-existent as the red bird on this planet.

"It's not every day one wakes up to feel someone touching them so intimately," Ace could hear the smile in Marco's voice and while he was mortified, arousal twinged within him. As with everything else, Marco had a very, very nice voice.

"If you're just going to humiliate me-" Ace began, but Marco shushed him gently, soothing him.

"Not at all," he said softly, voice washing over Ace like silk. Heat pooled in the bottom of his stomach and Ace frowned, not sure he was comfortable with where this conversation was headed.

"Do you want to know what I did this morning?" Marco continued and Ace felt shivers erupt over his body. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as Marco hummed, low and deep in his throat and oh god Ace could imagine him with his neck stretched back, needy and wanton.

"You left so quickly, I bet you touched yourself in the shower," Marco said, the sound of his tongue running over his lips accompanying his words and Ace grit his jaw, lowering a hand to knead the bulge in his trousers.

"After you left for breakfast, I rolled over and breathed in the scent you'd left." Marco's voice tilted lightly, humour spotting his words. "I left a tip for the maids who'd have to deal with the mess I made."

Ace couldn't hold back the groan and it slipped down the line to an amused Marco, who made a curious sound.

"Are you touching yourself to the thought of it now?" he asked and Ace nodded slowly, fingers clutching at the fabric of his shorts. Marco's words ran over him, tangling his voice around him, and Ace let out another stifled groan, fingers pressing down.

"You have no patience," Marco said, his words sharper. They dug into Ace's skin and his chest rose quickly, inhaling deeply. He was affected entirely by Marco, he had been from the moment they'd met.

"We have more time to be patient than now," Marco continued and his voice was deep once more, words like glazed honey dripping from fattened, succulent meat. Ace hungered for Marco's words far more though and he reached up to his ear, pressing the communicator deeper in.

"I want you," Ace said, fingers tempting the waistband of his shorts. He wouldn't though, not when Marco was so close. "Not just your voice, I want all of you."

The world turned a strange shade of distorted pink and Ace smiled triumphantly as the Striker located him and translocated him. Marco appeared before him, trousers slipped down to his ankles and shirt discarded on the floor.

"And you said I have no patience," Ace muttered, rising from where he'd been sitting. He unbuckled his shorts, letting them fall down, and discarded his bag and shirt. There would be no need for them where he was heading.

Marco opened his legs and Ace fell between them with a wicked smile. He kissed from Marco's muscled thigh to the side of his cock, kissing it once before pulling back, frown on his face.

"No one can see us can they?" he said and Marco shook his head.

"I parked us in the jungle just after I started the translocation. Only perverted insects will-" Marco paused as Ace took his cock in his mouth, letting out a heavy breath and letting his head roll back.

Marco was pliant under his tongue, Ace learnt. His balls were sensitive and Ace swept over them gently at first, hand pumping Marco's dick slowly, thumb smoothing over the vein on the underside. It was a warning for Marco not to come and he didn't, clutching Ace's chair, the muscles of his thighs trembling.

Ace pulled back with a wet pop, standing up and vanishing.

"Ace?" Marco called, worry in his voice. Ace remained silent, scrunching his nose up as his treasure proved a little harder to find than he'd anticipated. He located the pill pack and lube quickly, slipping a pill into his mouth and swallowing before getting one for Marco.

"It's banana flavoured," Ace said, sliding into Marco's lap and pressing the pill to Marco's lips. Marco grinned around the protective pill, tongue darting out to take it in and suck on Ace's fingers gently as he swallowed. The pill would protect them better than any condom could and Ace settled himself on Marco's lap.

"We have a mission to complete," Ace said. His feet reached the ground and he pushed up, offering the lube to Marco and watching him coat his fingers with burning desire. "But when this is over, I want to hear you whisper all the things you want to do to me in my ear."

A soft exhale passed Marco's lips and Ace moved down, settling himself atop Marco's fingers. He was slow and Marco careful, pressing kisses to his throat as Ace adjusted, breath catching and morphing to a moan every time Marco brushed his prostate.

"Ace," Marco whispered into his ear, kissing him sloppily. "I want to do everything with you."

Ace grinned against Marco's jaw, settling his feet on bare ground and smoothing Marco's cock with a lubed hand. Fingers weren't enough and he moved down, taking Marco inside of him slowly, gritting his teeth at the sensation.

"Fuck," he let out slowly, entire body tingling. "Marco, please-"

Marco growled lightly against him, supporting Ace as he pushed up. It wasn't enough though and Ace rolled his hips, choking out as Marco brushed his prostate again.

"Good," Marco urged and Ace whimpered, eyes shut tight. "You're doing so well."

His voice was deep and endless once more, as if it held the entire secretes of space and time. Marco's voice flowed over Ace, urging him, encouraging him, praising him, and Ace let out a stifled groan as he came, knees weak as Marco pushed up, sighing in content as he came too.

"Friends didn't feel right for a reason," Ace said softly, pushing back Marco's sweaty hair. Marco was still inside of him and Ace smiled, far from done. "Perhaps lovers though," he continued, kissing Marco on the lips with a smile, shifting his hips to seal his words.

Marco's smirk was all he needed for permission.

**.**

"… on behalf of our organisation, we wish you the safest flight…"

Ace rolled his eyes. Marco stood behind him, eyes dully reading the list of accepted identification for what must have been the thousandth time.

"We're nearly there," Ace said, sounding hopeful rather than confident. Marco looked at him, doubtful look on his features.

"Who knew checking identification was such a big deal," he muttered and Ace shrugged.

"It really wasn't this bad on the other side. Have schools let up or something?" Marco shrugged, slinging an arm around Ace's shoulder and pulling him close. He kissed the side of Ace's head as Ace leant back against him, sighing.

They'd been travelling for almost a month now, alone together in the Striker. There had been no sign of the phoenix and Ace had received a distress call from his home planet that the Tenryuubito ship had been sighted leaving its home, headed straight for Ace's planet.

There had been no other option – Ace had to head home, searching the planets closer for a stupid mythical bird.

"Next," an automated voice said and Ace moved forward with Marco, grinning almost manically as he realised it was their turn.

Two galaxy passports were handed over and the alien behind the desk they'd stepped up to. The alien scanned Ace's identification.

"Portgas D. Ace, confirmed," it said as it looked him up and down, handing him his passport and ticket to access the deck to where the ships had been taken. Ace let his shoulders drop; he had nothing to fear, but galaxy security always made him anxious. Now they just had to find the Striker and pass through.

"Marco the Phoenix, confirmed," it said and Ace's thoughts froze. It couldn't be.

"It must be the school break," Marco said, but the words hardly registered. "Ace?"

"What's your name? Your full name? Say it again," Ace said quickly. Marco ushered them away from the desk, taking Ace's documentation and putting the passports away.

"I don't know my family name so I just picked something. It's from a book I read as a kid – I painted my craft to fit the theme too." Marco smiled proudly, though it was shallow and Ace could see his worry.

"But what is it?" Ace demanded, gripping Marco's hand tightly. Excitement and relief was building in his chest and all he needed to release it was a simple sentence from Marco.

"Marco the Phoenix," he said calmly and Ace threw his arms around Marco, laughing at his own ridiculousness.

"Ace?" Marco said, wrapping his arm around Ace. He was warm and alive and had been there in front of Ace the entire time.

"Ask me what bird we've been looking for," Ace said quickly as he pulled back, still in Marco's embrace. Marco looked puzzled, brows furrowed and lips parted, but he did as told.

"What bird have we been looking for," he said slowly and Ace broke into laughter again, shaking his head with a brilliant smile.

"PROPHET told me I had to find a phoenix. The phoenix." Marco's eyebrows shot upwards and he moved his head back slightly, disbelief clear.

"It's just a mythical bird after all," Ace said in relief and Marco snorted in laughter, the sound growing and building until they were both laughing wildly,

Ace linked his hands together behind Marco's back, kissing his nose as aliens of all species looked on at them in confusion.

"Caught you," he said, squeezing tightly. "I finally caught my phoenix."

Marco looked at him with a fond smile.

"I suppose a call to Oyaji would be in order." At Ace's blank look he continued. "Oyaji's always wanted to have a reason to destroy a Tenryuubito ship."

Ace pressed his lips to Marco's. There was no way he could deny it; he was in love.

**.**

Reviews are always appreciated, I hope you enjoyed!


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